If growing up is painful for the Southern Black girl, being aware of her displacement is the rust on the razor that threatens the throat. It is an unnecessary insult.”
-I Know Why The Caged Birds Sings
I titled my blog Unnecessary Insults because when I read the above quote from Maya Angelou, I got it. It's relatable. “Unnecessary insults” are equal opportunists. They come in varying situations and severities, but we all receive them. Each of us know what it's like to go through unpleasant, hurtful, upsetting, and downright rude experiences.
I see "rust on the razor that threatens the throat" of so many of us. Life is happening. The unnecessary insults are piling on, and it's all so frustrating. You go through crap after crap, trial after trial, loss after loss, and it all starts to seems malicious. It's like life has a razor at your throat, threatening your peace, progress, happiness, security, success, hopes, and well-being, and you notice, in that terrifying moment, that it's trying to give you tetanus too.
The Bible says that "all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." (Romans 8:28 KJV) My favorite translation, The Message, says it like this: "That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good."
It sounds good, but if we're honest, sometimes it's like I don't want "it" to work for my good. I want "it" not to happen! When some of the "details in our lives" are really, really painful, it's difficult to see how it could ever be used for good.
I know that feeling. I have had moments praying and crying "God how can this ever be worked into something good? How can this heartbreak be worked into something good? How can my divorce be worked into good? How can my miscarriage be worked into something good? How can my Granny's death be worked into something good? How can this wrong, bad choice I've made be worked into something good?"
Sometimes Romans 8:28 seems like an unnecessary insult, and I get it. Here's the thing. Maybe, not tomorrow or even this year, but maybe one day you'll be sitting across from someone who has the figurative razor at his/her throat, and you'll know exactly what to say to be encouraging. Maybe you'll encounter another difficulty with confidence because you know you've been through worse and will get through it too. Maybe, even after all the unnecessary insults, you'll be a wiser, more compassionate, generous, loving version of yourself. Maybe one one day you'll chip the nails you've been so happy to grow and see a story.
To me, it's in these sometimes subtle ways that God actually is working "every detail in our lives" "into something good."
